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Glamour And The Dust - Reflections from Port Hedland Ladies Day 2017 - Part 2

Many might ask, is this all worth the effort?
This certainly
is my husband’s opinion when he over hears me excitedly discussing my up and
coming race wear outfit ideas...

I normally cop an eye roll and a throwaway line similar
to..... “It’s not your wedding day you know.... it’s a lot of effort for a day
at the races....”

My personal view is categorically YES.... for me I get an
instant high when my outfit does arrive from Australia Post like a present from
Santa, the bigger gift is if it fits and if it goes with the other pieces I
have selected – that type of adrenaline can keep me going for weeks. Even
better still if I can rustle up something from my wardrobe I have long
forgotten about and add a few different elements to come up with
something workable.

Next hurdle is if you can get that perfect time slot with your
most revered make-up artist and hair stylist on the day J

Next is getting all of your girlfriends co-ordinated with similar
time slots so as to allow you perhaps one golden hour pre-race meet to be able
to sit, breath, relax, sip of some champagne and admire each other’s chosen
looks for the day.
I love to hear about
others outfits inspirations, their trials and tribulations and triumphs.

Hair By Sam Cardoso

Racing fashion, for me, and I dare say I am not alone, is
about celebrating the true essence of female energy. It’s about embracing
femininity yet bringing a little sass, wrapping it up in grace and elegance and
displaying it with integrity and soul.

05:30 is such a rough time to start

That might sound a little deep, but I have obviously had a
lot of time to think about what all of this means to me personally and what the
motivation is for other women.
I love how we strive to emanate beauty in ourselves and
compliment each other on a job well done with other outfit compilations.

This may seem like an over thought justification to my
husband who really thought I had lost my mind when I woke in the pitch black
hours of 5am on Sunday morning for Port Hedland Cup Ladies Day to ensure that I
made my 05:45 hair and make up appointment on time.....

Make Up by Danika

As you can see from the images, above, I definitively needed some expert advice to
get me looking the goods for the day ahead.

I had been admiring the amazing make up talents of Danika
Murphy for some time. Big ups to
Danika. She certainly knows her way
around the make-up palette.

A gorgeous local lady with a passion for beauty and seeing
others feel and see the beauty in themselves also. Danika is a young lady on the rise. I was so
appreciative of her efforts in getting up at the crack of dawn, heavily
pregnant mind you – to assist me to bring the look to life that I had in mind.

Whilst she is out of action for a few weeks to focus on
having her own bundle of joy – you guys should keep her in mind if ever you are
in need for her services. She is stunning, she is professional, she knows her
stuff – what a wicked combination.

Natasha Brady - Telling Designs

Speaking of local women who know their stuff! Following my
hair and makeup appointment I had lined up Natasha Brady from Telling Designs
to take a few snaps of me in my most favourite outfit to date. She kindly picked me up, whisked me down to
the South Hedland horse stables where Bully and I attempted a connection to get
some shots.

Bully and also Totes Amaze, both stunningly beautiful race
horses, were having a few laughs at my expense at me prancing around in
my heels and my shiny skirt (there were attempts made to have a chew on my Proenza
Schouler number a couple of times which did put me off my game I must say)

Totes Amaze smiling up for the camera!

Here is a massive shout out to our amazingly supportive
community. When Tash put the call out
late on Thursday afternoon that I was after a horse for a photoshoot, she was
overwhelmed with offers. Not only that,
when we did go to the stable on Sunday morning, apart from some anticipated strange
looks from the stable hands, they were more than welcoming, accommodating and
helpful to assist me to achieve the look I was after.

Living in Port Hedland for the past 7 years has just
strengthened the long held belief I have about rural towns. We view each other more like family. We will go the extra mile for each other when
the favour is called and it is why my husband and I will call this place home
for many years to come yet.

Back to Tash for a moment – a little bit like a picture
speaks a thousand words....

I don’t think I need to say much about how amazing she is,
how professional, how kind, how much of an awesome director she is....

Let’s just let this image say the lot....

Following the whirl wind photo shoot at the stables and then
at the Turf Club I gathered the gorgeous ladies from Western Australia Racing
and Wagering (RWWA) and we headed to a
champagne brunch at the Provodore.

I was super keen to show case local businesses in town to
the RWWA ladies as they had never had the pleasure of coming to Port Hedland
previously. I contacted Michelle from
Provodore the evening prior to our brunch and she took my brief perfectly and
advised chef of our needs. Execution of
this was bang on! Check out the
spread...

With sufficiently full bellies, perhaps slightly over filled
in my case and with a lovely champagne glow we headed to the track to check out
where all the fashion magic happens.

I had the ultimate pleasure in meeting some new faces and
chatting to some of the ladies about their outfit inspirations many of which I will feature in my upcoming blog post.

Top 10 finalists for WA Country Cups 2017 Pilbara Heat

Brown Brothers Boutique Wine Bar

Overall the
day was supremely successful. Our local turf club did an amazing job yet again
of raising the standard of the venue year on year.

This year we
saw palm trees, and food trucks and little boutique wine bars, shade and seats,
gorgeous pallets on the grass with blankets and areas to have a picnic.

The effort
that goes on behind the scenes to pull off a day like this is phenomenal. I for one am extremely appreciative of the
tireless work of the volunteers that make this happen.

So a huge
thank you to all of those involved – you are totally appreciated!

I sure am
throwing my support behind a membership and attendance at the Port Hedland Cup
Ball followed by Port Hedland Cup Day and I plan to blog about those events accordingly.

Such an awesome time of year with many opportunities for dress ups and socialising!

I want to
end the blog with reference to some tips I provided for how to go about a win
of fashions on the field, particularly honing in on a local race meets.

1. Headwear
is a must

2. Dress
appropriately for the race meet – racing fashion has particular rules which
might seem foreign to the novice but if you check out WA Country Cups website
there is the 5 criteria listed there that will give you a good start, otherwise
follow some racing blogs. I personally
love Milano Imai’s racing fashion blog.
She openly talks of her successes and failures in the fashions on the
field stakes and will give a whole range of tips on how to learn from her
mistakes. The blog is gold – check it
out!

3. Pay close
attention to detail

4. Don’t
overdo your make up (although I must admit – I love love love makeup, but I
understand not everyone can pull off a high glam look during the day, and nor
is it always appropriate)

5. Don’t
forget about your hair. Hair styling can
be just as artistic and complimentary as your fascinator or headwear can be to
your outfit, don’t over look it

6. Be
unique. Whilst styling ideas from blogs
can be great. Don’t replicate a look
that has been done 100 times already. Judges are looking for style inspiration
themselves – show this through your personality and express it uniquely.

7. Let your
outfit tell a story. If you are going with a particular theme in mind to your
look, carry it through with all the finer details. It might be the addition of grandma’s brooch,
or your sister’s earrings, or this amazing vintage piece that you picked up at
the local opportunity shop or something that you made to complete the look. Such details get noticed.

8. Think of
your feet. In places like Port Hedland,
your shoes can be wrecked simply from walking from the carpark to the betting
circle. Perhaps you might need to bring
two pairs so as not to wreck your fashions on the field outfit’s overall look.

9. Take care
of yourself. This is a big one. Take the time to eat a good breakfast, go
easy on the bubbles and re-hydrate throughout the day. Even the people with the best intentions get
caught out with too many champagnes.

10. Relax
and have fun. The day goes by so
quickly. A lot of effort goes into
executing your looks. The best advice I
can possibly give is, this is all meant to be a fun day out. Don’t lose sight of that.

You can view
more detail about my above points by checking out the North West Telegraphs
article posted on Wednesday July 19th 2017 on page 20-21.

Despite the
fact that I have jumped the fence this year into judging and not competing in
fashions on the field, and there is no possible way I can have a crack at the
amazing prize offered by WA Country Cups this year. I am still in love with the whole concept of
this competition.

WA Country Cups Port Hedland Heat Judges

Kelly Bell - WACC Pilbara Heat Winner

I love that
we are firstly bringing local women together with a prize to motivate more
purpose to their selected outfits, it generates business for our local economy
in many industries but specifically beauty, fashion, millinery and the
hospitality space. It also provides space for women to plan, create and show
case their artistic flare in the fashion space celebrating femininity, fun and
fashion.

It is a time
to put yourself out there, challenge yourself, be critiqued, to learn about
yourself, to work with that sense of overwhelming anxiety that one gets when
stepping on the stage, to foster that and drive fierce determination and
strength.

Even in the
knock backs we can learn something about ourselves and how we might do it
better next time. So if you weren’t successful this year, don’t be
discouraged. From what I saw there was a
great display of poise and elegance on the catwalk. Learn from others and have
another attempt. There is nothing at all to lose and as mentioned a great to
deal to gain by having another crack next year.

To finish my post for today I leave you with a quote to reflect on...

As quoted
C.Joybell. C

“There is no
comfort and assurance. I want to be able to say, that there are four things
admirable for a woman to be, at any age! It's always wonderful to be elegant,
it's always fashionable to have grace, it's always glamorous to be brave, and
it's always important to own a delectable perfume!”

NEXT POSTS: I plan to interview regular WA Country Cups FOTF entrants from near and far discussing all things inspiration and fashion.... Keep an eye out...

For now Love and Light
May we continue to keep a little Glamour In Our Dust!
xxx